Born and raised in the small town of Mexico, New York, Kara was an only child who was forced to find ways to entertain herself. Playing make believe with her Barbie dolls and stuffed animals was her first real taste of storytelling before she became old enough to develop a love affair with the written word.

In early 2010, Kara picked up her very first erotic romance novel, and she was instantly hooked. She loves to write contemporary romance, erotica, and young adult romance. Currently she has several full-length novels in the works, a series of novellas, and a handful of short stories. Kara is an active member of the CNY Writers Haven, the Romance Writers of America, and the CNY Romance Writers.

Today, Kara resides in New Haven, New York with her husband, five kids, and three cats. When she’s not reading or writing, she’s thinking about reading and writing. And when she’s not doing that, she’s spending time with her family and friends.

Blurb:

Teghan Jacobs didn’t think anything could be worse than learning she’s pregnant by a man she’s been dating less than six months. Boy was she wrong. Her mother, whose drowning in the river of denial, refuses to take a side on the issue. Her overbearing, manipulative father threatens to disown her and cut her off from her trust fund if she doesn’t have an abortion. And she’s lying to all of her friends for fear of being ostracized.

Donnie Marks couldn’t be happier. The woman he loves, the woman he fought so hard to be with, is going to have his baby. Life has never been better. But when she shows up in his dorm, sobbing and heartbroken, he learns the horrible truth of what happened. He vows to get revenge on the man who’s responsible: Teghan’s father.

Donnie watched as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He smiled. “Do I make you nervous?”

“No.”

He studied her for a moment before cocking his head to the side and asking, “So, why do you do that thing?”

“What thing?”

“That thing with your hair. You’ve done it every time I’ve seen you,” he said.

Teghan felt the heat rising inside her as she looked at her feet and back at him. His eyes glimmered with desire that, she guessed, rivaled her own. She swallowed hard and reminded herself he was off limits. She’d just made things right with Alex, and there was no doubt that if she broke Alex’s heart again, her brother, her father, and their friends would never forgive her. It was something she wasn’t willing to risk.

But oh, how she wanted to feel him. To place her hands on his hard abs and feel his muscles tense beneath her touch. As he approached, she watched his body, seductively outlined by the light. Her breath caught in her throat when he reached out, took her hand, and gently pulled her to him. It was as if they were two halves of a mold that fit together perfectly. She sucked in a breath and held it. Was he going to kiss her? A small part of her wished he wouldn’t, while the rest of her screamed for it.

Donnie cupped her face in his hand, caressing her cheek with his thumb. Teghan’s eyes fluttered closed at the feel of his lips coming close to hers. It was like the time she’d stuck her finger in a light socket; a jolt of searing hot energy shot through her body, but then eased away, leaving her stunned and aroused. “We shouldn’t do this,” she whispered, her lips brushing against his as she spoke.

Lashell Collins was born and raised in a small Ohio town. And although her Midwestern upbringing gave her a very practical outlook on life, it didn’t stop her from daydreaming about romance and love and all the special little things that make life magical.

Lashell has always loved to write and often dreamed about pursuing her passion, but like so many of us, she allowed life and circumstances to lead her down a very different path for a long time. An avid lover of both animals and flowers, Lashell has spent the last twenty years working in Veterinary Clinics and Garden Centers before finally finding the courage to take writing seriously.

She lives in Ohio with her husband and their two four-legged children, a Bernese Mountain Dog named Ben and an American Bobtail cat called Spike. She is a hopeless romantic, a huge music fan, loves to laugh and loves a happy ending.

Brought together by criminal forces, heiress Samantha Colby and Detective Joshua Pierce have come through a harrowing ordeal together and found love in the process. But now that their troubles are seemingly behind them and real life awaits, they each discover that being together is going to require a little give and take.

Still haunted by a dark secret in his past, Joshua struggles with how to tell Samantha the truth as he deals with his unease about fitting in with her wealthy family, while Samantha endeavors to build an identity for herself that’s separate from her famous last name. Knowing that they come from two different worlds, both are determined to let their hearts guide them. Can they figure out how to meet in the middle and build the life – and the love – they both want so desperately?

When Jayne Kingston was growing up she spent many hours daydreaming about a time when she could flee the too-small town in Ohio where she grew up and run laughing for the sunny West Coast. Of course she stuck around and raised her family in that small town instead, and doesn’t regret it for a moment. Now she spends her days dreaming about the delicious fun two people can have while falling in love.

After five years of living abroad, Rachel has returned to Chicago. As a welcome-home present, one of her best friends throws a ‘70s-style key party. A night of mingling and anonymous sex with one of Petra’s hunky friends seems perfect.

Petra knows about the crush Rachel had on Ben in college, and she rigs the game so Rachel ends up with the very fine young doctor. But Petra doesn’t know the whole story. Rachel never told her friend about the scorching-hot make-out session that is now Rachel’s go-to sexual fantasy.

And neither of them could know Ben is more than looking forward to showing Rachel every carnal moment she missed when she left without finishing what they’d started that night.

Rachel watched a tall redhead nearly fill the foyer as he came in the front door. No sooner had she opened her mouth to tell Petra she hoped she got his keys later that night than he stepped sideways out of the foyer. He turned to laugh with the guy behind him and the words froze on her tongue.

Ben Richards—not quite as tall or broad as the redhead but long and great shouldered just the same—said something that made them both laugh harder as they made quite the entrance into the room.

Just like that, seven years vanished. Rachel could vividly remember what it had been like to be pinned beneath Ben on his couch, drowning in his mouth—both wildly lush and utterly masculine—as he kissed her freakin’ socks off. She shivered as she recalled the way his thick, black hair felt clutched in her hands, and how he hadn’t closed his rich-gray eyes but watched her while they kissed. And the way his long fingers had felt sliding under the hem of her sweatshirt to skim over her skin had been something she would never forget.

Danica: Do you have a nickname? What is it, and where did you get it?
Jared: Well, I’m called Chief by my right hand man and my sister will call me a dunderhead. Unfortunately, Adele has picked up this habit as well if she’s annoyed with me.

Danica: What do you wear when you go to sleep?
Jared: Nothing *grins wickedly*

Danica: Where do you live? Describe it: Is it messy, neat, avant-garde, sparse, etc.?
Jared: I live in Winnipeg. In a penthouse suite. That’s all I’m going to say on the matter. You don’t need to know the specifics.

Danica: What was your family like?
Jared: Loving. I had a happy childhood.

Danica: Who was your father, and what was he like?
Jared: My father was Chief of Beare Enterprises before me. He was formidable man, a loving father and a great Chief. It’s hard to feel his shoes.

Danica: Who was your mother, and what was she like?
Jared: It’s hard for me to talk about my mother since her murder. I loved her. So much. She was the best.

Danica: What was your parents’ marriage like? Were they married? Did they remain married?
Jared: My parents were happy enough. They were married. It was arranged and they remained married until they were killed.

Danica: What were your sibling’s names? What were they like?
Jared: I have a sister. Her name is Sheridan. She’s a perpetual thorn in my side *smiles* but I love her. She lives in Ontario now.

Danica: What’s the worst thing one of your siblings ever did to you? What’s the worst thing you’ve done to one of your siblings?
Jared: My sister duct taped me to a wall as a child. The worst I’ve done to her… left her alone to deal with that monster Levi. I’ll never forgive myself for that.

Danica: When’s the last time you saw any member of your family? Where are they now?
Jared: I saw Sheridan early in the year in Dawson City. Then I went to her wedding with Gordon Thomas in Winnipeg, before she moved to Ontario. She lives east of Toronto.

Danica: What tape or CD hasn’t left your player since you purchased it? Why?
Jared: I purchase MP3s and the last song I bought was Hurricane by Thirty Seconds to Mars.

Amy started writing at a very young age. Life and responsibility got in the way and writing was put on hold. It wasn’t until the birth of her second child and spending countless hours in a NICU she realized that life is precious and it shouldn’t be wasted.

Now years later –and a healthy baby later–Amy has realized her dreams. She was first published in 2007. Her alter ego, A.C. Ruttan writes dark paranormal and urban fantasy.

I’m not actually here. I’m either in lala land, or halfway there as I prepare for my shoulder surgery. I’m relieved and ready to get this over with. A full year of pain and not feeling like myself will hopefully stop once they fix whatever the problem is today.

So in honor of the surgery, and because I’m weird that way, I’m going to be playing songs about cutting or surgery. I was going to use Like a Surgeon but I realized I played that one already. Instead, we’re going with Bryan Adams’ Cuts Like A Knife. Hello, you know you love this song! If you’re a child of the 80s you were a Bryan Adams fan. I know I still kind of am.

Any time I hear Summer of 69, I’m reminded of college. Not that I went to college in 1969. I wasn’t even born yet, but that song was always on play at the bar that was like a second home for me in my youth. Ah, that first line “I bought my first real six string”…yeah, it brings back memories. But Cuts Like a Knife was probably the first song I recall hearing from Bryan Adams and it didn’t hurt that I thought he was cute. Of course, I was like 7…but still, he was cute.

Enjoy the song and I hope to send drugged tweets and facebook updates at some point. But no pictures. Nu-uh.

There are 17 (seventeen) stops for this Scavenger Hunt. Each stop contains a picture/button with a letter on it. All 17 letters form a message or phrase that is associated with the book. The letters are scattered randomly to the hosts. You will need to collect all 17, unscramble them, and then enter the decoded message in the Rafflecopter for the ‘extra entries’. Good luck!

The super secret letter of the day is…

Be sure to check out all the stops on the tour to collect the letters and unscramble them for extra chances to win!a Rafflecopter giveaway

Do you have anything in common with your characters?Unfortunately I don’t. I would love to be a martial artist like Eva or a princess like Sa’Mya. In my head I’m both though. 😉

What item, or items, is absolutely necessary to your writing mojo?My son has two toys that I’ve taken too while writing. One is a spongy ball and the other is some kind of prickly thing. I find that while I’m trying to think things out, I reach for them and it helps to get the thoughts and idea’s flowing. He of course, has noticed that I like to keep them on my nightstand and has hidden them. But in his defense, if asked, he will retrieve them for me.

Do you have any rituals for writing or special locations that you prefer to inhabit when you’re writing?No rituals, but I like to write in bed, propped up by pillows. I get distracted easily, so writing anywhere else would pull my attention away from my characters. I have tried writing at the mall once while my kids were shopping, but I didn’t get even a sentence out. I kept stopping to buy cookies and shakes. They were calling my name.

Right now, what items are on your desk that you’d be embarrassed to admit to?I claim every unique item on my desk. Not embarrassed at all. But my favorite thing on my desk is a clay ashtray that my daughter made for me in school. Even though I don’t smoke, I have it proudly displayed and filled with pennies.

What’s the strangest (neatest, coolest, etc) thing you’ve ever done?I went zip lining in Jamaica. It was so amazing but scary as hell! We were high in the mountains and had to zip our way down. My legs were literally shaking. I haven’t been that scared before or since! When I did peek and open my eyes, it was a beautiful view.

What was your favorite subject in high school or college?I’m a total slacker, so my favorite subject in high school was dance. Our geeky troop performed at all of the half-time shows and school assemblies. We were really good, and I’m not just saying that. We likened ourselves to Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation dancers. My high school boyfriend and his friends used to call us Rhythmless Nation dancers, but I’m pretty sure it was pure jealousy since he ended up marrying me.

What are you currently working on, or what’s on the horizon?The third book in this series was picked up by Ellora’s Cave, Dangerously Hers. I’ll spend the next three months or so working on the edits and getting Jessica Moore’s story refined and kick ass. I’m about 3/4ths done with JB’s story, the fourth book, title forthcoming. And of course, Eva’s friend Ally’s story (5th book) will be completed by the summer. I also started a wolf shifter story that I hope to have completed by the end of the summer as well.

What do you do when you’re not writing?Read! My TBR list is growing out of control. I used to read 2-3 books per week and I’m pretty sure that’s what I read for the entire year in 2012. Even though I haven’t been able to read as much as I would like to, that hasn’t stopped me from buying books from my favorite authors.

Quick Questions:
Summer or Fall?Summer! Fall *gags*

Pedicure or massage?BOTH! Who says I have to choose one? Sadist…

Paper or plastic?Plastic. I know, I know. Not good for the environment.

A. M. Griffin is a wife who rarely cooks, mother of three, dog owner (and sometimes dog owned), a daughter, sister, aunt and friend. She’s a hard worker whose two favorite outlets are reading and writing. She enjoys reading everything from mystery novels to historical romances and of course fantasy romance. She is a believer in the unbelievable, open to all possibilities from mermaids in our oceans and seas, angels in the skies and intelligent life forms in distant galaxies.

Kane Epps divides his life into two distinct parts—before the alien invasion and after. Before the invasion, he had a pregnant wife and a high-powered job. After the invasion, he’s left with only himself and his hatred for all things alien. He channels his bitterness by captaining a vessel of renegade humans—space pirates who don’t think twice about taking what they need.

Princess Sa’Mya is on the run. She and a few trusted advisers fled her home planet, only to be captured by the sexy, dangerous Captain Epps. He claims to hate aliens but can’t seem to resist touching her or kissing her…everywhere. As Kane introduces Sa’Mya to ever-increasing, unimaginable realms of pleasure, the princess becomes determined to earn his trust. She’s used to getting what she wants. And this time, what she wants is Kane Epps.